Urinary endothelin-1 excretion according to morpho-functional damage lateralization in reflux nephropathy.

Background: Reflux nephropathy (RN) is a pathophysiological human model of reduced nephron reserve, due to loss of renal mass, but little information exists about the role of urinary endothelin-1 (uET-1) in this disease. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of uET-1-like-immunoreactivity (uET-1L) in RN patients, particularly if lateralized renal damage existed.

Methods: Thirty patients with vescico-ureteral reflux (VUR) and consequent RN, were studied.

123I-hippuran renal scintigraphy with evaluation of single-kidney clearance for predicting renal scarring after acute urinary tract infection: comparison with (99m)Tc-DMSA scanning.

Unlabelled: The value of (123)I-hippuran (OIH) renal sequential scintigraphy (RSS) in predicting the evolution of defects detected by (99m)Tc-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scanning during a first episode of acute pyelonephritis (APN) was assessed.

Methods: Fifty-eight children with APN underwent (99m)Tc-DMSA planar scanning and (123)I-OIH RSS during acute infection and at least 5 mo later. Renal lesions found by (99m)Tc-DMSA scanning were classified according to the following (99m)Tc-DMSA grading system: 0 = normal, 1 = 1 lesion, 2 = 2 lesions, and 3 = diffuse damage with renal parenchymal subversion.